Vidovic Art

Tuesday, 23 April 2019

Lithe Black and White Figures Jump and Climb Across Walls in Illustrative Street Art by STRØK

Norway-born, Berlin-based artist Anders Gjennestad, who works as STRØK (previously), paints monotone figures often clad in striped shirts moving gracefully across unexpected surfaces. In a piece painted in Arendal, Norway (the artist’s hometown) three identical men appear to scale the wall of a generic-looking building, and in a mural in Paris leaping subjects seem to breakdance while they defy gravity. Gjennestad incorporates shadows for each figure that disrupt the viewer’s perspective, leaving one to wonder if the artist’s subjects are falling up or touching down. Most recently, the artist participated in Aberdeen, Scotland’s Nuart festival.

In addition to his large-scale outdoor pieces, Gjennestad also creates figural works that fit inside galleries, often using rusted metal surfaces and dilapidated wood doors as his canvas. The artist’s forthcoming solo show will open May 10th at Galerie Mathgoth in Paris, and runs until July 9, 2019. Explore more of Gjennestad’s work and travels on Facebook and Instagram, and find select prints in his online store. (via Lustik)

Photo: Nika Kramer

Dramatic Decaying Flowers in Tiffanie Turner’s Solo Show “What Befell Us” Challenge Notions of Beauty and Perfection

“Specimen B”, All photographs by Shaun Roberts, courtesy of Eleanor Harwood Gallery

In her latest solo exhibition, What Befell Us, California-based artist Tiffanie Turner explores notions of aging, imperfection, and perishability. Massive flower blossoms including dahlias, garden roses, ranunculus, and strawflowers are formed from Italian crepe paper and span nearly 3 feet across. While in her previous work Turner strove for the ideal phenotype of each flower, in What Befell Us the artist pushes past perfection to investigate our collective relationship to flaws and damage.

The artist shares with Colossal that she felt strongly pulled to focus on climate change and environmental peril in her latest show. She expresses concern that humans’ resistance to perishability with plastic and preservatives also hastens irreparable damage to the earth. And, as a woman experiencing aging in a superficial society, Turner saw personal parallels with our global obsession with freshness and perfection. She explains:

When I started to choose my specimens for this show, instead of superimposing formal imperfections onto these pieces, I sought out flowers that are beautiful even though they are not perfect. For example, the two strawflowers in the show are two sides of the same coin. One is still bright and colorful, but its center is deformed as it starts to lose moisture. The other is older, its petals slumped back from the fading, greying center. Each are “imperfect”, but both are undeniably still beautiful. Why just keep trying to create more beauty. Why can’t we just see more things as beautiful?

What Befell Us is on view at Eleanor Harwood Gallery in San Francisco through June 15, 2019. Follow along with Turner’s latest work via Instagram. And if you’re inspired to create paper flowers of your own, the artist’s in-depth instructional book is available in The Colossal Shop.

“Specimen C”

“Specimen F”

“Specimen G”

“Specimen A”

“Specimen D”

“Specimen D” alternate view

“Specimen E”

Installation view

Installation view

Candy-Colored Plants and Animals from the Imagination of Hiné Mizushima

Vancouver, Canada-based textile artist Hiné Mizushima (previously) brings a cuddly, colorful approach to creepy-crawly plants and animals. Fungi, insects, and single-cell organisms get a felted makeover in pastel hues with embroidered, stitched, and crocheted details. Mizushima often optimizes her works for display either by allowing them to be worn as brooches or by affixing them to plaques or in bell jars to showcase at home.

In addition to her stationary creations, Mzushima also creates animations, including a recent music video commission for They Might Be Giants, which engages the traditional Japanese needlework technique kogin. You can see more of Mizushima’s felted flora and fauna on Behance and Instagram, and purchase prints of various pieces on Etsy.

Commission for The New York Times Canadian web campaign

Monday, 22 April 2019

Stunning Portraits of Madagascar’s Reptiles and Amphibians by Ben Simon Rehn

All photographs © Ben Simon Rehn, shared courtesy of the artist

In December, 2018, Iceland-based photographer Ben Simon Rehn trekked to Madagascar to test a new camera for Olympus. While on assignment, the photographer captured some spectacular images of the lush African island’s wildlife. Striking close-ups of chameleons show the reptiles’ pebbled skin texture and unique coloration, and a portrait of a Sky-Blue Reed Frog shows the amphibian’s shimmering bronze-toned eyes and sleek yellow and blue skin.

Prior to Rehn’s career as a photographer, he was a high performance athlete, which shows in his ambitious location shoots in remote, rugged locations. In addition to his editorial work, Rehn seeks to raise awareness about environmental issues and the impact of mankind on the earth. Follow along with the photographer’s travels on Instagram and Behance and take an in-motion look at the landscapes he explores on Vimeo.

Bizarre Details Enliven Seemingly Simple Moments in Photographs by Ben Zank

“Tilted Scales”

Ben Zank (previously) captures emotions of confusion, restriction, and ennui and in his ongoing series of banal-meets-bizarre photographs. Each image features a single subject in a seemingly mundane location: on a city sidewalk, near a semi truck trailer, or in a forest. Yet the individual at hand is engaged with or affected by their surroundings in highly unusual ways: one figure bends backward under the weight of long birch branches stuffed under his shirt; another is sandwiched in a layer cake of collapsed cardboard boxes. Zank shares with Colossal that he’s entering a season of productivity in his personal work as the weather warms, and is looking forward to a solo show in Shanghai, which will open in fall 2020. Stay up to date with Zank’s surreal scenes on Instagram.

“Assisted Living”

“Big Brother”

“Layer Cake”

“The Stigma”

“I DON’T KNOW ANYMORE”

“Going Under”

“Thought Deposit”

“Daily Agenda”

Want to Write for Nomadic Matt? Here’s How!

a woman in a yellow sweater writes from her laptop
Updated: 04/22/19 | April 22, 2019

Earlier this year, I announced I was opening this website up to guest posters. For years, I turned away unsolicited guest posts, but, this year, I decided it was time to change that policy as I want to add more voices, opinions, stories, and tips to this site.

I want to bring in people out there who have helpful information and insight I might not have, especially now that I’m traveling a lot less.

So, if you’d like to write for this site, here are our guidelines for submissions:

What Content Do We Want?

First, what kind of submissions are we looking for? We’re interested in the following (and only the following) areas:

LGBT content: stories by transgender people, queer couples, and solo gay, lesbian, or bi travelers
Africa-related content (bonus points if it’s East or Central Africa and Egypt related)
Middle East–related content
Central Asia–related content
India-related content
China-related content
Technology- or gear-related content

Your pitches should have a focus on budget-related issues: cheap things what to do, budget accommodation, good companies or apps to use, travel hacks, or ways to save money. We want the kind of service article that will help readers travel cheaper, better, and longer.

Of course, travel stories are great too, so long as they contain a lesson or advice that can be used to help people travel.

Typical posts are 1,000-2,000 words, are super detailed, contain lots of useful links, and have tips and tricks not found elsewhere. I love insider knowledge!

How to Submit a Post

Send an email to matt@nomadicmatt.com with the exact title “New Guest Writer Article Submission”

Include the following:

Your travel history
Your blog or channel
A link to two other guest posts you’ve done
Your topic idea(s), with suggested title(s) and description(s) of the article(s)

Here’s an example of a good email:

Hi Matt,

My name is John and I’m writing about submitting a guest post on your site. I’ve been traveling the world for ten years, with a focus on Africa. For the last six months, I’ve been traveling around East Africa as a backpacker and have a lot of resources that can help. My blog is johnsworld.com, and I’ve written some posts on the subject that can be found here and here.

My proposed topic is “How to Visit Tanzania on a Budget,” which will focus on how to get around, eat, and safari without spending a lot or money or doing an expensive tour. The idea here is to show people you can travel the country independently.

Here are links to some of my writing so you can see I can put words together.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

John

Simple and to the point. If I like your pitch, I’ll reply. Please DO NOT follow up. While tenacity can often be appreciated, DO NOT follow up. I get too many emails.

Please follow the rules above too. I like people with an attention to details so if you send an email with the wrong subject line or miss any of the other following rules, we’ll delete your pitch!

Finally, please note that if you send me a draft and I find that it will be too much work to edit, I reserve the right to reject it. Additionally, since I am pretty picky, there’s also 99% chance I’ll ask you to make changes to your draft so please expect notes and rewrites.

Oh, and we pay $250 USD per post.

That’s really it.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments.

Matt

The post Want to Write for Nomadic Matt? Here’s How! appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Sunday, 21 April 2019

Vintage Family Photos Painted As Large Scale Murals by Mohamed L’Ghacham

Separación De Poderes II, Ostend (Belgium) 2019

Morocco-born, Barcelona-based artist Mohamed L’Ghacham paints large figurative murals based on scenes from vintage family photos and everyday objects. Often choosing photographic “accidents” for their authenticity, the artist paints meals, table settings, toasts, and other communal rituals performed by normal people. When viewed at a wall-sized scale, the personal and seemingly unimportant moments gain new meaning and become more emotionally resonant for viewers despite never having met the families portrayed.

L’Ghacham’s use of muted color palettes connects the murals with their respective urban surroundings while also staying true to the vintage aesthetic of the source photography. Loose, layered brush strokes give the general shape of facial features and objects, but a step back from the image is necessary to appreciate the full snapshot. Head to the Mohamed L’Ghacham’s Vimeo page to see the artist in action, and follow his Instagram for more in-progress and completed mural photos.